Golf-club shaft



T. G. TREADW-AY March 31. 1925.

GOLF CLUB SHAFT Filed July 14 1922 Patented Mar. 31, 1925'.

TOWNSEND G. TRIE'ADWAY, OF

BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HORTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- N ECTICUT.

GOLF-CLUB SHAFT.

Application filed July 14, 1922. Serial No. 574,951.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, TOWNSEND G'r. .TREAD- 711', a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Club Shafts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,- and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to golf clubs andmore particularly to golf clubs provided with a hollow, or tubular, metallic shaft.

An object of the invention is to provide a golf club with a tubular metallic shaft that can be united at its meeting edges by awelded seam extending throughout its length and that can also be reinforced throughout its length from its interior by a wooden core or filler.

A further object is to provide a tubular metallic shaft that will possess torsion or be ca able of twisting under the strains place upon it by the im act of the club head on the ball without liability of fracturing the shaft, and while this possibility of the shaft being broken under such conditions is preferably eliminated by rein-' forcing the shaft from both its interior'and exterior, the same result can also be. obtained with more or less the same de ree of safety with one or the other of said reinforcing means eliminated.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side vlew, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a golf club embodylng the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the shaft;and

Fig. 3 is a detail view of that portion of the shaft which is provided with means for permittingthe shaft to twist when a blow is delivered with the club;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view;

Figs. 5 and 6 areadditional detail views showing other locations in the shaft for the means forpermitting torsion or twisting of the latter. While the present invention is equally ap licable topracticall all types of golf clu s, it is shown, in t e present instance, embodied in the club known as the midiron.

upon it,

head or hosel, by

of longitudinally extending A club of this type has' an all metallic head 10 formed at its rear end with an upwardly extending sleeve like shank or hosel 11 which hasa socket therein for the reception and attachment of the shaft 12. Shaft 12 is also made entirely of metal, being made tubular or hollow and tapered somewhat from its handle end to the end which is secured in the hosel or head and to strengthen said shaft to withstand the strains placed it' is reinforced throughout its length by a Wooden core or filler 13. Said core is of comparatively light material,.such asbalsa wood, and is tapered similarly to the shaft 12 whereby it will have a wedging action and make a close fit When inserted-in said shaft" although it and the shaft are firmly secured together, as well as in the a transverse rivet 14 extending through thehosel, shaft and core.

It has heretofore been somewhat difficult to provide a metallic hollow shaft that would successfully stand up under ordinary usage and in the present invention, to meet the requlrements as to strength, the shaft 12 is.

made from an imperforate (except for a feature hereinafter described) sheet of metal bent into tubular form. The meeting edges of the tube are welded together and form a seam 15 extending throughout the length of the tube or shaft and to accommodate the increased thickness of the shaft atsaid seam the woodencore or filler 13 is grooved longitudinally, as

at 16. In this way, theexterior of the shaft is free from ridges and the core 13 fits the shaft snugly, at all points.- The ordinary steel tubular shaft has been found objectionable for the reason that it does not possess torsion, or the quality of twisting when the ball is struck and the present invention seeks to overcome this deficiency by providing said shaft with one or more slots that may be located at an of several points in the length of the s aft whereby the shaft may torsion under impact. In carrying out this idea, the steel shaft is, of course, somewhat weakened by the slots therein and for this reason the shaft is reinforced against collapse or fracture.

The preferred arrangement is shown in Figs. 1 2 and 3 and consists of a plurality slots 17 (usually amply reinforced versely by the three placed equi-distantly around the shaft) located adjacent the lower end of the shaft where they will he surrounded by the hosel 11. With this arrangement, the slotted po-r tion of the shaft is supported from its in terior by the wooden core 13 and from its exterior by the sleeve like hosel 11. If desired, however, the same results can be obtained by locatin the slots at a point where they will be enclosed by the handle 18, as indicated at 17; or if desired the slotted portion need be given support side only as by locating the slots 17 at any point intermediate the handle 18 and hosel 11, in which case said Slotted portion will be reinforced only from its interior by the core 13. With any one of these arrangements it will be found that the shaft is capable of torsion or twisting fperfectly but, due to the reinforcing effect a orded by either the core and hosel, the core. and handle, or the core alone, as the case may be, the weakened portion adjacent the slots will still possess the necessary strength to prevent its breakage under the most tryin usage. In this preferred construction, .t e metal shaft 12 is circular in cross-section, having a smooth exterior-surface, and the wooden core 13 is also circular in cross-section, making a snug fit in the shaft throughout the length of the latter. With this arrangement the shaft is by the filler and the use of the reinforcing filler does not necessitate the abandonment of the circular shaft now generally used and the use, in lieu thereof, of a shaft of unusual or disagreeable crosssection or appearance. Furthermore, the entire metal shaft is filled by core 13, leaving no hollow portions that may easily be dented or otherwise injured.

What is claimed is: 1. In a golf club, the combination of the head, a hollow metallic shaft extending into said head and having a longitudinallyv extending slits intermediate its ends to permit twisting of the shaft, 'said slit being located within the club head whereby the slitted' shaft is reinforced transportion of the head, and means for securfrom one i head, a hollow exterior by shaft adjacent the slitted portion to prevent fracture of the shaft at that point bystrains placed on the shaft transversely thereof, said'slitted portion of the shaft permitting said shaft to torsion under impact.

3. In a golf club, the combination of the metallic shaft secured in the head, said shaft having a longitudinal slit intermediate its ends and a wooden strengthening core in the shaft adjacent the slitted portion, said core being removable with said shaft and said slitted portion of the shaft permitting said shaft to torsion under imact.

at. In a golf club, the combination of the head having a sleeve-like socket and a hollow metallic shaft secured in the socket, said shaft having a longitudinal slit therein spaced from the shaft ends and surrounded by the sleeve formed by the socket, said slitted intermediate portion of the shaft permitting the shaft to torsion under impact.

'5. In a golf club, the combination of the head, a: hollow metallic-shaft, means for securing the shaft in the head, said shaft having a longitudinal slit intermediate its ends, the slitted portion of said shaft being spaced from the securing means and located within the head whereby it is reinforced from its the head and a filler within the shaft for reinforcing the slitted portion of the shaft from the interior of said shaft.

6. In a golf club, the combination of a head,'a hollow metallic shaft extending into said head and having a longitudinally extending slit intermediate its ends to permit torsioning of the shaft, said slit being located within the club head whereby the slitted portion of the shaft is reinforced transversely by the head, and means for securing the shaft in the head.

. TOWNSEND o. TREKADWAY. 

